Walking speed reflects the vitality of the muscles, bones, nerves and cardiovascular system, so our walking speed can also predict our lifespan. After the age of 65, our walking speed gradually decreases, and eventually our daily life will be affected, greatly reducing our quality of life. Therefore, it is very important to keep muscles, bones, nerves and heart healthy through endurance and resistance training. Exercise may be the best way to prevent slow walking. However, poor sleep quality and low energy levels may prevent many people from sticking with exercise. In addition, poor sleep quality and fatigue may be the cause of low NAD+ levels.

Recently, Japanese scientists published a research article titled "Ingestion of β-nicotinamide mononucleotide increased blood NAD levels, maintained walking speed, and improved sleep quality in older adults in a double-blind randomized, placebo-controlled study" in the journal "GeroScience". The results showed that supplementing NMN can prevent physical decline and poor sleep.
NMN prevents decline in walking speed
The researchers first evaluated the walking speed of older adults who took NMN to replenish their NAD levels. To measure walking speed, participants walked about 13 feet (4 meters) per day at a normal pace and took 250 mg of NMN per day for 12 weeks. The results showed that the participants' walking speed did not change, however, the walking speed of the placebo group decreased and the time increased by about 0.3 seconds.

Sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a set of sleep-related questions. The PSQI is designed to assess subjective sleep quality and parameters such as sleep duration, latency, and consistency. Scores range from 0 to 5, with higher scores indicating more sleep disturbances. The study found that supplementation with NMN reduced sleep scores from 3.5 to 3.2. In contrast, scores in the placebo group increased from 3.9 to 4.3. These findings suggest that NMN can improve sleep quality problems in the elderly.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adsc.202400417.